007

I'm guessing that not too many people try to get the Bullhead record, as I think in Ontario it is 2.37lbs and there are plenty of them at the T.O Islands bigger than that. I was with a friend last year when he caught a Bullhead that weighed over 3lbs - a record fish i guess - but back it went to fight another day without a thought to recording it. That said I don't think Bullheads can grow to the size of g-force's fish can they? If that is a bullhead then its an unbelievable size - that's why I'm guessing it is a channel cat despite the very brown appearance. Would have been easier to identify if you could see the forked tail properly. Great fish though whatever it is! 007

Just a quick report from the T.O Islands. No pics for a change. I decided to head out to the islands after work for a few hours fishing and a picnic with the wife. Fortunately the Thunderstorms stayed away. So far in my Canadian fishing experience I have been unable to catch bass on soft plastic worms or on topwater baits so usually end up fishing (and catching!) with live worms. So for the few hours I would be fishing tonight I thought I would leave the worms at home and fish only with the soft plastics and topwater baits! I like a challenge. The evening started out quite promisingly as I could see lots of fish around weeds and along the banks. So I started casting and jigging plastic worms. This managed to attract the attention of a small pike that twice came out of the weeds and snatched at the bait but didn't hook up, then the biggest perch I have seen at the islands had a sniff but didn't take, then a 3lb bass came out for a look but turned its nose up at the offering (it wouldn't have done that with a wriggling live worm!). Then it all went quiet. So I met up with my better half and had a picnic dinner. With about half an hour of light left and the dark clouds rolling in I decided to have another go - this time with topwater baits. I noticed that a lot of bait fish were jumping out of the water in one spot so took a closer look and sure enough there was a 2lb or so bass chasing small fry. So on goes my skitter pop and then a torpedo - tried for 15-20 mins but nothing, despite lots of activity and large fish breaking the surface. So I tried a plastic worm - this time as I retrieved the worm the bass followed it but didn't take. So I tried a again - this time an even longer shape follows - a pike of about 4-5lbs but it too gives up. By this point I'm getting frustrated, so I tie on a small jointed rapala shad and work that near where I've seen the bass chasing fish. Not long later I see the bass inhale my lure but before I get chance to strike and set the hook - it spits the lure out! Time to call it a day - just wasn't going to be my day. Talk about fussy fish tonight. Why is it so many of you out there catch bass week in week out on soft plastics and topwaters and yet I can't. What am I doing wrong? Any tips? I'm hoping to go back to the islands this weekend for a longer session - needless to say I will bring all my lures and most importantly my live worms - cos they will catch me some fish! I will take the plastics and topwaters but I'm not sure they will get much use. Good luck to all those fishing this weekend - I wish you all better luck than I had tonight. Cheers and Goodnight! 007

Check-out the exact same thread on Page 2 of the board by Kennyman Quite a few replies to that one and some good advice. Good luck 007

Wow. That's a big cat. I didn't know there were any channel cats in Lake O near Toronto. First time I've seen/heard of one being caught. Normally its just lots of 1-3lb Bullhead Catfish. When I saw the pic at first I thought you had a record Bullhead - but I think I can see a forked tail so must be a channel cat I guess. Congrats and thanks for sharing. Always nice to see new species in the GTA that I didn't know were there. 007

Nice one MJL. Great report, big fish, good pics and you out fished the carp addict too! Also now I know where to cast my bait this weekend to benefit from some free groundbait from you guys, unless those greedy carp have sucked it all in by then!!! Good luck in Algonquin - what you gonna be fishing for? Brookies, Smallies or Lakers? Eagerly awaiting a report already! 007

Great Report Ric. Thanks for showin us some new species. The Bluefish certainly looks mean. 007

Wow - MJL. Now that's what you call a thorough report - what a way to make your 500th post on OFC. Thanks for sharing. You're one serious carper with that kit. Looks like you caught some good fighters if not the big one you were after. Congrats on the PB Channel Cat - What did it weigh? 007

Thanks for the advice Tipupesox and Zamboni - I am now booked into the Pigeon Lake Resort in mid September and have reserved a 14' boat with a 15hp engine. Looking forward to fishing Pigeon and Nogie's Creek/Bay. Hopefully will catch my first Walleye and Musky. Any tips from those of you have fished there would be gratefully received - PM me if you like. Thanks again for all the suggestions 007

MJL - That's too funny! Good idea though!

Frozen-fire - I had left my SLR at home so for this trip I was using my Canon A640 digital - its tilting screen was pretty useful in getting the shots of the toad low to the ground. Thanks for the other comments guys. Maybe my quest will pick-up in the fall.

Great update on the canoe Cliff. That's one sophisticated canoe now. Watch out fish - Cliff and Bly are waterborne now! LOL

Hi all. My quest to catch as many of Ontario’s fish species continued at Fairbank Provincial Park, west of Sudbury this past weekend. The plan was to catch some bigger smallmouth bass and perhaps hook into my first walleye or musky. Thursday evening we left Toronto via Bass Pro of course. $300 bucks and a new spinning rod n reel combo later we were on our way up HWY400. We had decided to split up the long drive to the park by staying in Parry Sound on Thursday night. The other reason for doing this was to take my wife on a flightseeing trip over the 30,000 islands area of Georgian Bay for her birthday. What an experience! We had always wanted to take a flight in a float plane, and what a place to do it. The views over G Bay were spectacular. Here’s a few pics…. After a 3 hour delay on HWY69 north of Parry Sound following an accident ahead of us, we made our way up through the heat of the day to Fairbank Provincial Park. We had a great campsite on the end of a peninsular with our own private beach or so we thought! We had paid extra for a waterfront site but the water access from our site was actually via a gravel pathway leading from the site to a beach where I could fish and launch my inflatable boat. A few days into the trip, we went into the town of Espanola for groceries, but on our return we were surprised to find that the people who had arrived at the adjacent site were putting their tent up on our beach!! We couldn’t believe the nerve of these people, especially when they bullied us into sharing the beach with them in return for moving the tent. The next day, we go down to use the beach and wouldn’t you know it there were our neighbours with 6 guests and their three dogs running around (not on leashes as required by park rules). We were so annoyed as we had now lost the use of the beach, which we later found out from the park warden definitely belonged to our site! Just to make things worse, on the last night these people partied until 2am, which meant we got very little sleep before the 5 hour drive home! Consequently, my wife now doesn’t want to go camping again and we’ve had to cancel a trip in September to Charleston lake! Sorry for the rant! Glad I got that off my chest though…. So to the fishing…. First I find out that there are no walleye or musky in the lake! Just my luck. However, there were plenty of smallmouth bass, perch, and rock bass (plus lake trout and pike so I’m told). I managed to catch lots of small smallmouth bass and perch close to a weedbed near my campsite from shore or the inflatable. I did also see someone fishing from a boat just off my site catch a good 3lb Smallie but I didn’t have that same luck. I also had great fun watching shoals of perch fight over my bait in the crystal clear water. On a few occasions I went out in the evening in a friend’s boat. We managed to catch more smallies, the best being about 2lbs and as usual I managed to catch small rockbass on a big lure meant for its bigger cousins! Here’s a few pics of the park and the fishing – check out the leopard like markings on the pic of the bass in the water – pretty cool. On the last day we managed to see some of the local wildlife. First was a toad of some kind that had been sleeping between our groundsheet and our tent! Second was a family of Sandhill cranes. Here’s some pics. After that we headed back to T.O, stopping off for a look at Six Mile Provincial Park where I managed to catch a few small largemouth bass, sunfish and perch in a half hour from the day use area with my wife’s ultralight rod, float and worm set-up. Hope you enjoyed the report despite the lack of big fish and the rant. I'm looking forward to my next fishing trip and hope that I can catch some new fish species soon as my quest is faltering somewhat at the moment. Cheers 007

That's a pretty interesting link there Wolfville - looks like it could be a Brown Goldfish. 007

Thanks to you all for the suggestions - I will follow up on these and see if any have availability. I may get back in touch with some of you regarding the fishing opportunities. Thanks 007

Thanks Nancy - that certainly looks like a good place - I will make some enquiries. We recently drove through Bobcaygeon, had a look at the locks and had lunch - seems like a nice place. Anyone have any additional suggestions?

Hi all. My wife is sick and tired of camping following 4 weekends away under canvas this year, so we are looking to rent a cabin with facilities for a few days in mid-September and wondered if anyone could recommend somewhere. We were thinking of somewhere on one of the lakes in the Kawarthas, preferably with boat rentals. My wife's preference would be somewhere quiet and peaceful. My preference is somewhere where I might catch my first Musky and Walleye! Hope you can help, as I'm sure we need to book soon. Thanks in advance. 007

Great pictures Joey. Looks like a good trip. 007

Thanks for the tip Deano. 007

That's odd Deano because the MNR Guide to Eating Sport Fish states that there are walleye to at least 22inches in there. Have you fished the lake - if so any tips for the bass fishing there?

Hi everyone. I've just been sorting through my tackle box and I've noticed that most of my hardbait lures (crankbaits, stickbaits, minnowbaits, jerkbaits and the like) are made by one company - Rapala. I seem to have amassed quite a collection of lures but strangely I have kept almost exclusively to one manufacturer. Having just looked through the Bass Pro catalogue I realise that there are many other lures of this type made by other companies that I could be missing out on. So it got me wondering whether everyone else out there is loyal to one brand and what the favourite is or whether most of you have a mixture of lures by different companies. Any suggestions on excellent hardbait lures I'm missing out on by sticking to the one manufacturer would also be appreciated... Cheers 007

Hi all. My quest to catch as many of Ontario's fish species will continue at Fairbank Provincial Park this weekend. Target species are Smallmouth Bass, Walleye and maybe Musky if there are any in there. I'm really hoping to catch my first walleye and get my PB smallie! Has anyone ever fished this lake before, it's about halfway between Sudbury and Elliot Lake, near Espanola? Has anyone got any tips for bass and walleye fishing at the lake or tips in general? Are there muskies in the lake too? PM me if you don't want the world to know. Thanks 007

I have a question about putting unused minnows in the lake - triggered off by Misfish's poll. I will be going up north this weekend and may get minnows on the way up so it is likely that they won't have come from the lake i'm fishing, so judging by what many people on the poll question have said I shouldn't put any left over minnows in the lake afterwards? This makes sense when I think about it - trying not to transfer diseases to new bodies of water but surely the fact that I am using the fish for bait means that I will be introducing them to the body of water anyway? Should I really only get minnows from the lake i'm fishing? Thanks 007

Congratulations on the PB smallie and a nicely marked muskie. Great report - sounds like you both had a great time. 007

When I went ice fishing on Simcoe I was told that the minnows were from Simcoe so at the end of the day I returned them to the lake - was that ok?

Joonmoon - fortunately I released them all - wouldn't have liked to fillet or eat fish with parasites or worms! Eeewww